Glass bending mold



A ril 21, 1959 J. s. GOLIGHTLY GLASS BENDING MOLD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1955 INVENTOR. James 5 Goya/ray ATTOR/VfX April 21, 1959 I J. S. GOLIGHTLY GLASS BENDING MOLD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 6, 1955 R a Z N .C E V w. w s m a M a w 3 Q m MW 6 7 9 .lMw 5 m m f. Q

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ATTORN'Y United States Patent GLASS BEN DING MOLD James S. Golightly, Tarentum, Pa., assignor toPittsburgh Plate Glass Company, a corporation of Pennsylvama Application June 6, 1955, Serial No. 513,465

15 Claims. (Cl. 49-67) The present invention relates to a novel glass bending mold. In particular, the present invention relates'to 'a female skeleton mold especially suited for bending glass into wrap-around shapes provided witha gently'curved .central portion merging into regions having severe curvatures to form opposing longitudinal extremities in spaced planes substantially parallel to each other.

The present invention provides a special apparatus on the mold which effectively separates a bending lehr into three longitudinally extending compartments when the mold carries glass sheets through the lehr. The mold forms a central compartment, extending across the central region of the glass desired to be bent relatively gently, flanked by two longitudinally extending compartments wherein the glass extremities are conveyed. Separator members in the form of plates which extend beyond the side extremities of the bending mold form the walls separating the lehr compartments. These plates of the bending mold are pivoted for movement beyond the longitudinal extremities of the mold, or removable to allow flat glass sheets to be mounted on the mold for the bending operation.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel apparatus for effecting the bending of flat glass sheets to wrap-around shapes more efiiciently than prior art molds.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mold for bending glass sheets into complex curvature having a gentle curve centrally merging into areas of severe curvature to form opposed extremities in spaced, substantially parallel planes.

Still another object is to provide a bending mold with movable wall members capable of movement to one position to clear a mold for placing flat glass thereon and into another position to separate the central portion of the mold from its flanks, thus enabling different portions of glass sheets to be exposed to different intensities of heat in a bending lehr.

These and other objects of the present invention will be obvious from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which disclose particular embodiments of the present invention.

In the drawings accompanying the enclosed description,

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a bending mold extending into an open position outside a glass bending lehr and supporting a fiat sheet of glass prior to bending wherein the mold is provided with two elements forming part of the present invention, the left element in bending position, the right element in loading position;

shape;

"18. cross bars 19 to semi-rectangular frame=shaped handles ratus -shown in "Figure 4, but depicting the ,pos'itidnfbf the elements after the mold has assumed its curved Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevational view similar *to a portion of Figure 2, showing the structural details .of an alternate embodiment of the invention.

A typical bending mold includes a carrying frameflfl comprising cross rods 12 having upturned endppo'rtions 13, longitudinally extending support bars '14, vertical posts 16 connected at their bottom ends 'tothe lower longitudinal support bars 14, and upper mold support bars 18 carried by the upper ends of the verticalposts 16. The carrying'frame also includes end cross bars 19 "extending transversely across the frame from the outboard extremities of. opposing upper mold support bars Diagonal bracing struts 20 interconnectthe end 22, provided with U-shaped'portions 24 centrally thereof to'facilitate their handling and storage.

The mold 30 comprises a central molding member 32 having an upper shaping surface 34 formed by the upper edges of two spaced, longitudinally extending side rails 36, 38 (Figures 4 and 5). A pair of cross rods 40, connected adjacenteach end thereof to fingers 41 extending downwardly from the side rails, interconnect the rails of the center molding member 32 adjacent each longitudinal extremity thereof. Cross rods 40 are mounted upon upper mold support bars 18 of the carrying frame when the mold is mounted upon'the carriage for supporting glass sheets to be bent in a bending lehr.

At each outboard extremity of the center molding member 32, there is an outboard molding member 42 and 44 respectively. These outboard molding members are substantially C-shaped in outline and have upper shaping surfaces 46 and 48 respectively,-which conform in-elevation to the shape desired for the glass'sheet extremities. At each lateral extremity of-each outboard molding member at its inboard longitudinal extremity, an extension arm 50 is provided. The latter includes a'brace 51 at its outboard extremity secured to the outboard molding member and a counterweight 52 at its inboard extremity. Each brace is apertured at 54 to receive a stub axle rod 56 fixed to the longitudinal extremity of the centermolding member 32 (see Figure 4). The apertures 54 and the-stub axle rods 56 provide pairs of bearings enabling the outboard molding members 42 and 44 to rotate relative to the center molding member 32. The counterweights 52 urge the outboard molding membersto rotate into a mold position whereby the upper shaping surfaces 34,46 and 48 of the various molding members provide a substantially continuous surface conforming in elevation and outline to the contour desired for the bent glass sheet.

Suitable pairs of stop members 60 are provided to insure that the outboard molding members do not rotate beyond the position required to form the curved frame desired. Each pair may include an L-shaped member 61 attached to the outer side of each rail 36 and 38 at each outboard extremity thereof, containing an apertured flange 63 through which an adjustable screw 65 may be fixed in position. The extension arms 50 each contain an extension plate 67. The latter contact the screws 65 of the various stop members 60 when the outboard molding members have rotated the desired amount, thus precluding additional undesirable rotation.

Bracing members 62 are interconnected betweenrails 36 and 38 of the center molding member 32. Bracing rods 64 interconnect the opposite sides of the C-shaped outboard members 42 and 44 for reinforcement purposes.

Heat abstractor plates may be pivotally mounted Pon rods 72 extending across the outboard extremity of the outboard molding members 42 and .44. ..l?lates...70

are each provided with an inwardly extending tongue 74 which slides" at the upper extremity of an upwardly extending leg 76 of a Jshaped member 78 attached to a ,cross rod 80. at the outboard extremity of the center f molding member 32.

"'A pivotable connecting frame 90, which comprises spaced, jointed straps 92, 94 comprising hinge links 96 and 98 and angular arms 100 and 102, is pivotally connected at the inboard end of the jointed straps to stub .axles 97 and 99, which may be outboard extensions of cross rod 80. Arm 100 comprises a lug 104 and arm 1 102 comprises a lug 106 at one end and angular extensions 108 and 110 2. its other end, respectively. A

{hinge bar 112 is connected between the extremities of the angular extensions 108 and 110. A plate 114 is lrotatably mounted on each hinge bar 112, with sleeves 11'6Lproviding a bearing. action with respect to the hinge 2 bar 112.

When the pivoted connecting frames 90 are rotated to an outboard position shown in Figure 4, the plates 114 hang beyond the longitudinal extremities of the mold, thus facilitating mounting of flat glass sheets prior to bending. After the glass sheet or sheets are mounted on the mold for bending, the frames 90 are then rotated inwardly into a vertical position to form walls 114 extending transversely of the glass at opposite longitudinal tension arms 50 to rotate clear of the plates 114.

When the glass laden molds are inserted into a glass bending lehr 120 provided with electrical heating elements 122, 124, the cross braces 12 of the carrying frame are supported upon lehr rolls 128 which drive the .carrying frames through the lehr. Thus, plates 114 provide a substantially continuous wall separating the lehr 120 into three longitudinally extending chambers.

The center section is heated by central heating elements 124 (Figure 2), Whereas the flanking longitudinally extending chambers on the outboard sides of the roll formed by the reflector plates 114 are heated by electric heating elements 122 and 126 respectively.

Therefore, after the glass and the mold have passed through a preheating section wherein the glass and mold are heated to a substantially uniform temperature above the minimum of the annealing range but below glass softening temperatures, and conveyed to the bending section of the lehr, where the glass is subjected to its softening temperature. In this section, the central chamber may be heated by electric heating elements 124 to a lower temperature than the outboard chambers heated by elements 122 and 126. Thus, the glass is bent more quickly in those regions requiring a severe bend and is bent less severely in those regions requiring a gentle curving of the glass.

The plates 114 not only provide a substantially continuous barrier which provides thermal insulation between the longitudinally extending chambers of the bending section of the lehr, but also concentrate the heat onto the regions of the glass where the bending requirements are most severe. This is done by making the-plates 114 of reflective material such as aluminum or stainless steel. The plates may accentuate this concentration of heat into the critical region of the glass by being curved in elevation as seen in the curved plate 214 of Figure 6, which may be substituted for the fiat plates 114. In plates 214, the outboard surfaces are concave and the inboard surfaces convex. This embodiment not only provides a substantially continuous barrier within the lehr, but also i enables the heat of the flanking chambers to be concentrated along a line of the glass wherein maximum curvature is desired.

With such apparatus it is possible to apply different intensities of heat to the different portions of the glass sheet during the bending operation and to utilize the energy consumed by the lehr more efficiently than formerly.

The above description of certain embodiments of the present invention is for illustration rather than limitation. For example, the bending mold may be used with gas or other types of heaters rather than the electrical heaters disclosed in the particular examples described. As an additional example, plates 114 or 214 may be removed entirely rather than pivoted for glass loading purposes. Other obvious modifications may be made within the scope of this invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a glass bending mold having an upper shaping surface adapted to provide a substantially continuous frame conforming in elevation and outline to the contour desired for bent glass sheets, means movable relative to said mold into a position beyond the longitudi- .n al moldextremities to allow a flat sheet of glass to be mounted thereon and into a second position to provide a vertical wall extending transversely of the mold, said vertical wall dividing the mold into compartments when moved into the second position.

p 2. In a glass bending mold having an upper shaping surface adapted to provide a substantially continuous frame conforming in elevation and outline to the contour desired for bent glass sheets, the improvement comprising a pivotable connecting frame, pivot means connecting said frame to said mold, a hinge bar for said frame, and polished meta-l plates pivotable about said hinge bar to depend therefrom in vertical relation above the upper shaping surface of the mold in one position of the frame and to depend therefrom beyond the longitudinal extremities of the mold in another position of the frame.

3. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the polished metal plate extends beyond the lateral extremities of the mold.

4. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the polished metal plate is rectangular in outline.

5. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the polished metal plate is curved in elevation.

6. The improvement according to claim 5, wherein the outboard surface of the plate is concave and its inboard surface convex.

7. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the frame comprises a pair of spaced, jointed straps each comprising a hinge link pivoted at one end to the mold, an

' angular arm pivoted to the other end of the hinge link, a

hinge bar interconnecting the ends of the angular arms spaced from the hinge links, a polished metal plate pivotally carried by the hinge bar and stop lugs fixed to the angular arm and adapted to abut said hinge link upon rotation of the angular arm relative thereto.

8. in combination with a glass bending mold having an upper shaping surface adapted to provide a substantially continuous frame having an outline conforming to that of a sheet to be bent and an elevation that provides a gentle curvature centrally thereof merging into sharply bent regions to provide opposite extremities bent into substantially parallel planes, means movable relative to said mold into a position beyond the longitudinal mold extremities to allow a flat glass sheet to be mounted on the mold and movable into a second position to provide a vertical Wall extending transversely of the mold inboard of a sharply bent region, said vertical wall dividing the mold into a central compartment and flanking compartment 'when moved into the second position.

9. In combination with a glass bending mold comprising a plurality of mold sections, upper shaping surfaces for each of said mold sections, said molding sections comprising an outboard molding section rotatable into one position for supporting a flat sheet of glass and rotatable into another position into proximity with another molding section to provide a horizontally disposed continuous mold shaping surface conforming in elevation and outline to the contour desired for at least a portion of the margin of the bent glass sheet, and means urging the outboard molding section into the other position, means rotatable relative to said mold into a position beyond the mold extremities to allow the flat sheet of glass to be mounted thereon and movable into a second position to provide a vertical wall extending transversely of the mold in the region between the central portion of the mold and the outboard portion, said vertical wall dividing the mold into compartments when moved into the second position.

10. In combination with a glass bending mold comprising a central mold section having an upper shaping surface of relatively gentle contour in elevation flanked by outboard molding sections having upper shaping surfaces relatively sharply bent in elevation and rotatable into a spread position relative to the center mold section for supporting a flat glass sheet and rotatable into a closed mold position into proximity with the center molding section to provide a horizontally disposed continuous mold shaping surface conforming in elevation and outline to the contour desired for the bent glass sheet, and means urging the outboard molding sections into the closed mold position, means rotatable relative to said mold into a position beyond each mold extremity to allow a flat glass sheet to be mounted thereon for bending and movable into a second position to provide a vertical wall extending transversely of the mold longitudinally inboard of each region of sharp curvature, said vertical walls dividing the mold into central and flanking compartments when moved into the second position and serving to simultaneously shield the central compartment from radiation applied to the flanking compartments while intensifying by reflection the radiation applied to the flanking compartments.

11. The improvement according to claim 10, wherein the movable means comprise polished metal plates.

12. The improvement according to claim 11, wherein the polished metal plates extend beyond the lateral extremities of the mold.

13. The improvement according to claim 11, wherein the polished metal plates are rectangular in outline.

14. The improvement according to claim 11, wherein the polished metal plates are curved in elevation.

15. The improvement according to claim 14, wherein the outboard surfaces of the plates are concave and their inboard surfaces convex.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,392,770 Ryan et a1. Jan. 8, 1946 2,486,153 Gwyn Oct. 25, 1949 2,608,030 Jendrisak Aug. 26, 1952 2,646,647 Bamford et al July 28, 1953 2,671,987 Jendrisak Mar. 16, 1954 2,688,210 Jendrisak Sept. 7, 1954 2,774,189 Jendrisak Dec. 18, 1956 

